My top 10 for the 1990’s
Inspired by Triple J’s recent initiative to choose the Hottest 100 for the 2010’s I have decided to try to climb back into the dark recesses of my memory and come up with my top ten songs from the previous decades. My appreciation for music started in the second half of the 1980’s and then went into overdrive in the 1990’s. Anyway, here is what I’ve come up with from the 1990’s …
My top 10 for the 1990’s
The 1990’s was the period of time that my love for music really took off and I found that my taste was very eclectic, ranging from heavy metal to punk to reggae as well as hip hop and many alternative bands. Essentially, if it wasn’t commercial music then I listened to it and appreciated it and that still stands today. It was during the 1990’s that I started to collect CDs and that collection now has now over 700 CD’s, LP’s, cassettes and music DVDs.
I have to thank several of my friends for exposing me to heaps of cool bands, namely James Mayne and Chris Quinane. Chris was very much into heavy metal (his favourite band was Halloween) and he played in a band himself and it was great going to those gigs. Our closest claim to fame music-wise during that time was knowing Tim Rogers from You Am I. Tim was our school captain a few years before me and he used to work at the local music shop in Castle Towers before You Am I success. Tim is probably the most well-known person from my school but I think Ben Quilty is a contender for that mantle now as he is very well-known as one of our greatest contemporary painters.
The 1990’s saw me attend many great gigs at venues such as the Hordern Pavilion, the Manning Bar at Sydney Uni, the Lansdown Hotel and the Annandale Hotel. It was also the start of the Big Day Out and I attended several of them during the 1990’s. The best act I saw at the Big Day Out was Primus but I also remember losing my shit seeing the Offspring. I also remember getting up on stage during a Skunkhour gig at Uni. Well I don’t really remember it, I was very drunk at the time, and I was told that I did that the next day by my friends.
To settle on a top ten for the 1990s is very hard as there are so many artists that influenced me during that decade, if I also did a top 11-20 for this decade it would likely include; The Cruel Sea, Cypress Hill, Front End Loader, Ice Cube, Ice T, Morphine, Nirvana, Pantera, Regurgitator, You Am I and The Whitlams who all just missed the cut for the top 10. But anyway, here is my top 10 …
- Rollins Band – Low Self Opinion, from the album ‘The End of Silence’ (1992)
Henry Rollins has been one of the most influential artists on me since the 1990’s. I was a pretty angry young man at the time and Henry was an artist that spoke to me on a level that not many others have been able to. I have all his albums, his spoken word CDs and his DVDs and some of his books (in total over 50 items) and I’ve also purchased many of his t-shirts over the years. I doubt I have missed a spoken word tour of his, I could almost have chosen I Know You, a spoken word piece, this really resonated with me at the time, Disconnect and Shine from the album Weight (1994) but I have chosen ‘Low Self Opinion’ as this was probably the first Rollins Band song that I heard and I was hooked on Henry Rollins ever since.
I do recall seeing the Rollins Band at the Hordern, probably in 1993, we were right up the front, close enough for him to sweat on us as well as get kicked in the back of the head many times from the crowd surfers but I loved every minute of it.
2. Offspring – Self Esteem, from the album ‘Smash’ (1994)
The Offspring probably held the mantle as my favourite band when the ‘Smash’ album was released although for the decade they were just pipped by Henry. They are one band that I have lost my shit to when seeing them live. ‘Self Esteem’ is probably my favourite track from the album but Bad Habit isn’t far behind. The Offspring also released their debut album ‘Ignition’ (1992) as well as ‘Ixnay on the Hombre’ (1997) and ‘Americana’ (1998) during the 90’s.
3. Janes Addiction – Been Caught Stealing, from the album ‘Ritual De Lo Habitual’ (1990)
I can thank James for putting me onto Janes Addiction, as well as Henry Rollins for that matter. My favourite album on theirs is ‘Nothing Shocking’, but it was released in 1988 and I hadn’t heard of them back then. ‘Ritual De Lo Habitual’ was the first Janes Addiction Album I purchased and my favourite track is ‘Been Caught Stealing’.
4. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under The Bridge, from the album ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ (1991)
The Chili Peppers released their self-titled debut album back in 1984 but I first heard them when they released their third album, ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ in 1991. This is one of my all-time favourite albums and I could pick any one of a dozen songs from it as my favourite song from the decade. They also released ‘One Hot Minute’ (1995) and ‘Californication’ (1999) as well as a greatest hits album ‘What Hits’ in 1992.
5. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – The Ship Song, from the album ‘Good Son’ (1990)
Another artist that James got me into. Nick Cave could be regarded as the GOAT, similar to Paul Kelly, and I have all his albums. The first Nick Cave album I purchased was ‘Kicking Against the Pricks’ (1986) which was an album of covers but I didn’t purchase this until the early 1990’s. ‘Henry’s Dream’ is probably my favourite album, from the 1990’s but I also love his other albums from this decade including; ‘The Good Son’ (1990), ‘Let Love In’ (1994), ‘Murder Ballads’ (1996) and ‘Boatmans Call’ (1997). There are so many great songs to choose from but I have decided to choose ‘The Ship Song’ as my favourite.
6. Powderfinger – Pick You Up ‘Pick You Up’ from the album ‘Double Allergic’ (1996)
Powderfinger are another great Aussie band that made a great impression on me during the 1990’s. ‘Double Allergic’ is my favourite album of theirs but they also released their debut album, ‘Parables for Wooden Ears’ (1994) and ‘Internationalist’ (1998) during the 1990’s.
7. Green Day – Good Riddance, from the album ‘Nimrod’ (1997)
Good Riddance (Time of your Life) is a great sing along song and one of my favourite Green Day tracks. However my favourite album of theirs would be ‘Dookie’ (1994).
8. Metallica – Nothing Else Matters, from the Black Album (1991)
Another great sing along song and probably the mellowest song on the album but one of my favourites. Every song on this album is a banger and this album was my introduction to Metallica. Since listening to it I have also purchased their albums from the 1980’s which are also awesome; ‘…and Justice for all’ (1988), ‘Master of Puppets’ (1986) and ‘Ride the Lightning’ (1984). I also have their two other albums for the 1990’s; ‘S&M’ (1996) and ‘Load’ (1999) but have nothing they have released since then.
9. Public Enemy – Can’t Truss It, from the album ‘Apocalypse 91 – The Enemy Strikes Black’ (1991)
Apocalyse 91 was the very first CD I bought and was I listened to it on the first stereo I bought using money I saved from my part time job at K-mart. I couldn’t have a top ten from the 1990’s without including Public Enemy, they were my most influential band in the 1980’s and this continued into the 1990’s. PE were prolific during the ‘90’s releasing 6 albums;‘Fear of a Black Planet’ (1990), ‘Apocalypse 91’ (1991), ‘Greatest Misses’ (1992), ‘Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age’ (1994), ‘He Got Game’ (1998) and ‘There’s a Poison Going On’ (1999).
10. Def Wish Cast – A.U.S.T., from the album ‘ Knights of the Underground Table’ (1993)
Def Wish Cast and Sound Unlimited Posse were the first Aussie hip hop bands that I ever heard back in the early 1990’s so I had to choose one of them for my top ten from the 1990’s. My favourite track from Sound Unlimited Posse would have been Unity but it was ‘A.U.S.T.’ by Def Wish Cast that really opened my mind to Aussie hip hop and I’ve been hooked ever since.
My top 10 for the 1990’s
- Rollins Band – Low Self Opinion, from the album ‘The End of Silence’ (1992)
- Offspring – Self Esteem, from the album ‘Smash’ (1994)
- Janes Addiction – Been Caught Stealing, from the album ‘Ritual De Lo Habitual’ (1990)
- Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under The Bridge, from the album ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ (1991)
- Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – The Ship Song, from the album ‘Good Son’ (1990)
- Powderfinger – Pick You Up ‘Pick You Up’ from the album ‘Double Allergic’ (1996)
- Green Day – Good Riddance, from the album ‘Nimrod’ (1997)
- Metallica – Nothing Else Matters, from the Black Album (1991)
- Public Enemy – Can’t Truss It, from the album ‘Apocalypse 91 – The Enemy Strikes Black’ (1991)
- Def Wish Cast – A.U.S.T., from the album ‘ Knights of the Underground Table’ (1993)